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For the North Korean currency, see North Korean won.

The won is the currency of South Korea.

Exchange rates

Sampled on July 23, 2005

• Euro (EUR) = ₩1,232.82
• UK pound (GBP) = ₩1,776.45
• US dollar (USD) = ₩1,021.35

Denominations

Coins currently in circulation are

• 1 Won (Rose of Sharon, Aluminum)
• 5 Won (Kobukson, Turtle ship, 65% copper, 35% zinc)
• 10 Won (Dabotab, Pagoda, 65% copper, 35% zinc)
• 50 Won (Stalk of rice, 70% copper, 18% zinc, 12% nickel)
• 100 Won (Admiral Yi Sun-sin, 75% copper, 25% nickel)
• 500 Won (Crane, 75% copper, 25% nickel)

Banknotes in circulation are

• 1000 Won (Yi Hwang, scholar, Reverse: Dosan Seowon (Dosan Confucian Academy))
• 5000 Won (Yi I, scholar, Reverse: Yi I's birthplace)
• 10,000 Won (King Sejong the Great and water clock, Reverse: Gyeonghuiru pavillion)

The 1 won and 5 won coins are difficult to find in circulation today, and prices of consumer goods are rounded to 10's. The highest valued bill, the 10,000 won note, is worth only approximately $10. Larger transactions are commonly handled by 100,000 won bank checks, dispensed from ATMs. South Koreans use electronic means of payment, intra-bank transfers, and credit cards, to a greater extent than even in the U.S.

History

The first definitive record of currency use in Korea appears in the Goryeo period (918 - 1392). Early in that period, even though some imported Chinese currency was in circulation, commodity currency such as grain and linen continued in general circulation. In the 10th and 11th centuries, iron and copper coins along with silver vase-shaped coins were issued, but never widely circulated.

It was not until the beginning of the Joseon period (1392 - 1910) that copper coins were minted for wide circulation. Chohwa, which was made of standardized mulberry-bark paper early in the Joseon period, become the first legal paper money and was used as a medium of exchange in place of coins. From the 17th century until the end of the 19th century, Sang Pyong Tong Bo copper coins were the most widely circulated currency.

The mintage and circulation of modern currency began during the last years of the old Korean Empire as a result of contact with the West. Around the time of the trial adoption of the gold standard in 1901, gold and silver coins were in circulation along with some Japanese bank notes. In 1909, the Bank of Korea was founded in Seoul as a central bank and began issuing currency of modern type.

After Korea lost her sovereignty to Japan in 1910, the Bank of Korea was renamed the Bank of Chosun, until Korea's independence in 1945 at the end of World War II. Bank of Chosun had issued notes in units of won and jeon (1 won = 100 jeon). The Bank of Korea started operations as a central bank on June 12, 1950 and adopted a managed currency system.

The Bank of Korea issued its first notes during the Korean War (1950 - 1953) to prevent the country being flooded by Bank of Chosun notes by North Korea. It also carried out currency reforms on three occasions during and after the Korean War. The first of these reforms was the replacement of the won with the hwan in 1953-02-15. On 1962-06-09, the won was reinstated and since 1975-03-22 is sole legal tender in South Korea. See the section on coins and the article on hwan for more information on this topic.

Notes

In 1962, as a part of the third currency reform, six new banknote denominations were issued: 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 Won.

The Bank of Korea issued new 10 and 100 Won notes (series II) later that year to replace the England-printed notes with domestically printed ones. 10 Jeon and 50 Jeon notes were also issued for convenience in the settlement of change in petty transactions.

The third series of 100 Won notes, the first by domestic intaglio printing, were issued in 1965 and the second series of 500 Won notes in 1966. Litho-printing was used for the third series of 50 Won notes issued in 1969.

The denomination of the then highest value notes, 500 Won, was low in comparison with the scale of transactions in the 1960's, resulting in a great demand for cash and counterfeit cashier's checks.

Eventually, the Bank of Korea issued 5,000 Won notes (series I) in 1972 and 10,000 Won notes (series I) in 1973, with new design and security features, including watermark, security thread, and ultraviolet response fiber.

Newly-designed 500 Won (Series III) notes were released on September 1, 1973, and 1,000 Won notes (Series I) were issued on August 14, 1975.

In 1983, the Bank of Korea issued new 1,000 Won notes (Series II), revised 5,000 Won notes (Series III), and new 10,000 Won notes (Series III) as part of its policy of rationalizing the currency system. The most notable features were see-throughs, distinguishing marks for the blind and common machine readable language.

The Bank of Korea issued a new series of 10,000 Won notes incorporating enhanced security features on January 20, 1994, keeping the same design, and prevailing color but including windowed thread, micro lettering, moir and intaglio latent image.

In 1993, the Bank suspended the issue of Series III 500 Won notes, which were replaced by coins, and of Series I 1,000 Won, Series II 5,000 Won, and Series II 10,000 Won notes.

Coins

The Bank of Korea issued 1 Won, 5 Won and 10 Won coins on August 16, 1966 to substitute for the 10 Hwan and 50 Hwan coins that had circulated along with the newly-issued banknotes following the third currency reform in 1962 in accordance with the "Law Concerning Temporary Measures for the Circulation of Struck Coins" of August 27, 1962.

On August 26, 1968, as the intrinsic value of the 1 Won brass coins far surpassed their face value, new 1 Won(Series II) aluminum coins were issued to replace them. To facilitate small transactions and reduce currency production costs, new 10 Won(Series II) and 5 Won(Series II) coins were issued on July 16, 1970 ; 100 Won coins on November 30 of the same year ; and 50 Won coins on December 1, 1972.

The Hwan coins were declared no longer legal tender from March 22, 1975 following the abrogation of the "Law Concerning Temporary Measures for Circulation of Struck Coins" in December 1974.

New 500 Won coins were issued from June 12, 1982 to replace the 500 Won note. The Bank of Korea eventually set up a standardized coin system by issuing new 100 Won(Series II), 50 Won(Series II), 10 Won(Series III), 5 Won(Series III), and 1 Won(Series III) coins on January 15, 1983.

Central Bank

• Bank of Korea (in English)

• Economy of South Korea